Across two locations, the heart of Sydney’s CBD and Carriageworks, HEARD·SYD will see Nick Cave and his colourful horses breaking up the daily activity of Sydneysiders with an exuberant and surreal explosion of equestrian activity. The dynamic, site-specific performances, on Thursday 10 and Saturday 12 Novwmber, feature 30 life-sized horse suits constructed from coloured raffia, and found and repurposed materials. Housing two dancers at a time, the sound suits produce a unique sound when activated, and the colourful horses will shuffle, toss their heads, paw the ground, prance, trot and nuzzle to riotous, ritualistic rumpus.

One of the most important visual and sound artists of his generation, Cave is well known for his ‘soundsuits’, which take the form of intricate sculptures combining art, fashion, dance and music. HEARD·SYD encourages a pastoral dream-like appreciation, designed as an escapist response to the modern bustle of the cityscape. It is presented free to the public for each of the three performances.

“Public art has a wonderful capacity to surprise and inspire passers-by, breaking us out of the hustle and bustle of the daily commute. We’re working with Carriageworks to attract top flight artists who will inspire and start conversations,” says Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

“I was really thinking of getting us back to this dream state, this place where we imagine and think about now and how we exist and function in the world… I think we tend not to take the time out to create that dream space in our heads.,” says Nick Cave on HEARD.

HEARD-SYD will take place on 10 November 2016 from 5pm at Pitt Street Mall, and 12 November 2016 from 10am at Carriageworks.